Desiree Afuye was a member of the dominating Naviti alliance on “Survivor: Ghost Island,” so why did she risk it all by trying to make a big move in Wednesday’s 10th episode? “I didn’t want to get to a point in the game where I realized it was too late and I didn’t have my own move to pitch to the jury,” she tells us about her idea of trying to get out some of the big players like Kellyn Bechtold, Domenick Abbate and Wendell Holland. “That’s what I had in mind making that move.” Listen to our “Survivor” exit interview podcast above.

Even though the move backfired, Desiree confesses, “I’m definitely proud, man. If you go out, go out with a bang, that’s what I’m always telling myself. I gave it my best effort. That’s all I can do.”

When Desiree’s plan was spoiled by Laurel Johnson, Desiree tried to lie her way out of the situation. Looking back, she admits that she could have handled things differently. “What I could have done — after the lie had got out and it kind of blew up — I could have confronted Laurel but then I also could have went back to her and said, ‘Laurel, this is why I confronted you. We could still go through with this plan [of blindsiding Kellyn].'”

“At some point it seemed like everybody had an idol except for me,” Desiree laughs about how many of her fellow castaways had found and used hidden immunity idols. “Like, Michael Yerger just digs some idols out of the dirt. It didn’t even make sense how many idols that Michael had found.”

Since Ghost Island offers so many secret advantages, does Desiree regret that she never got to experience this season’s twist? “I was kind of happy staying at camp with my tribe because that island can just throw any random thing at you. You don’t know what you’re getting into. It could either hurt you or benefit you.”

Also in our “Survivor: Ghost Island” exit interview, Desiree discusses what other big moves she had in mind, why the social aspect is the hardest part of playing the game, what former castaways she’d love to be on a tribe with, and what kind of player she’s going to vote for to win the $1 million.

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